When juggling work emails, cooking dinner and running their households, parents are increasingly relying on electronic devices to get their tasks done and to distract their often bored children.

Arizona State University alumnus Jason Plotch said he developed a habit of distracting his young daughter with an iPad.

"We were using it as a crutch at first," he told The Arizona Republic.

However, he realized Natalie, now 7, was developing a slight addiction to the technology.

Creating Hatch

Plotch wanted to fight technology with technology and develop a program to reduce device dependence. He said technology is not bad, but should be used in moderation.

So, Plotch, who was raised in Scottsdale and lives in New York City, brainstormed with his business partner and fellow New Yorker Chris Stamper. They wanted to build a productivity app that would gamify focus while being fun.

The two had previously created an app called Hyper, which Plotch described as similar to Instagram. The app ended in 2017.

To enhance their new productivity app, Plotch and Stamper reached out to animator Julie Velarde, a Nickelodeon veteran who worked on the children's show "Bubble Guppies."

"When we saw it come together, we knew we had something," Plotch said.

How it works

ASU grad Jason Plotch created Hatch, a focus app in which users unlock digital creatures when not using their phones.(Photo: Courtesy of: Hatch)

Plotch said Hatch is designed for easy setup and quick use. Users can choose how long they want their focus session to last, from five minutes to 90 minutes.

During the session, an animated egg will appear while a countdown clock begins. If users leave the app before the session ends, the egg won't hatch. If they stay in the app until the end, the egg hatches to reveal a mystery creature.

Plotch said Hatch has a whole universe behind it, which encourages users and creates mystery. Users can collect different Hatch mystery creatures after completing each session.

App users can also collect the mystery animals in the creature store. There are 43 creature varieties, in six categories: common, uncommon, rare, legendary, elite and limited-edition.

Boosting productivity

Users of Hatch, a focus app, can collect mystery creatures when directing their attention away from their smartphones.(Photo: Courtesy of: Hatch)

The app has more than 50,000 downloads and was one of the top apps in June in the European Union in Apple's App Store, Plotch said.

Plotch said the app appeals to adults, but he and the founders worked to get teens and younger kids to use it, too.

As they created Hatch, the founders visited schools to reach out to students. Plotch said it is harder to convince high school students that productivity is important compared with college students.

"It's an uphill battle when convincing users that it is a benefit to them to use their phone less and put it down," Plotch said.

Although several reviewers say they use Hatch to keep them focused on homework, others said they use it when working out and cooking, Plotch said.

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